Michael's Reviews > Beowulf
Beowulf
by
by

*bum bum* IN A WORLD . . . *bum bum* . . . FULL OF NASTY MONSTERS . . . *bum bum* . . . WHO EAT PEOPLE AND BREAK INTO CASTLES . . . *bum bum* . . . THE BEASTLY GRENDEL LURKED LONG OVER THE MOORES . . . *bum bum* . . . BUT NOW . . . *Cut to scene of monster ripping someone's face off with his teeth*
(silence. black screen.)
*Unknown warriors approaching*
"Who are ye, then, ye armed men,
mailed folk, that yon mighty vessel
have urged thus over the ocean ways,
here o'er the waters?"
*bum bum* . . . ONE MAN . . . *bum bum* . . . ONE LARGE MAN . . .*bum bum* . . . OF NOBLE BIRTH AND LONG, LONG SWORD . . . *bum bum* . . . IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE THEM.
"Hither have fared to thee far-come men
o'er the paths of ocean, people of Geatland;
and the stateliest there by his sturdy band
is Beowulf named. This boon they seek,
that they, my master, may with thee
have speech at will: nor spurn their prayer
to give them hearing, gracious Hrothgar!
In weeds of the warrior worthy they,
methinks, of our liking; their leader most surely,
a hero that hither his henchmen has led."
*cue symphony: BUM-BUM-BUUUUMMMMM! BUM-BUM-BUUUUMMMMM*
Beowulf speaks:
"To Hrothgar I
in greatness of soul would succor bring,
so the Wise-and-Brave may worst his foes, --
if ever the end of ills is fated,
of cruel contest, if cure shall follow,
and the boiling care-waves cooler grow;
else ever afterward anguish-days
he shall suffer in sorrow while stands in place
high on its hill that house unpeered!"
*Everyone looks around at each other, wondering what the fuck he's talking about*
*Exciting symphony, something along the lines of "O Fortuna." combat shown as Beowulf tosses Grendel down, gets Grendel in a headlock, pokes him in his eyes. Beowulf takes his shoe off and starts hitting Grendel on the top of his head with it.*
*Music stops. Shot of Beowulf on the shore, hand on his hilt.*
Beowulf speaks:
"Tis time that I fare from you. Father Almighty
in grace and mercy guard you well,
safe in your seekings. Seaward I go,
'gainst hostile warriors hold my watch."
BEOWULF. PG-13, Parents Strongly Cautioned. Contains Monsters Biting People's Faces Off, Graphic Far-Fetched Violence, and Shots of Beowulf's Bare Chest.
Beowulf is totally the precursor to Conan, and Rambo. He's mothafuckin' badass. And you know how, since the Rambo movies are so old, they come out in boxed sets now? Think of this slim volume as a trilogy:
BEOWULF
BEOWULF II: MOMMY DEAREST
BEOWULF III: BEOWULF VERSUS A BIG-ASS DRAGON
While often trilogies get worse as they go along, this one actually improves. And it's safe to say that a fourth sequel will never come out about Beowulf after he gets old and out of shape. . . although that might be what BEOWULF VERSUS A BIG-ASS DRAGON is.
If you like football, Stallone, Escape From New York, and can't get enough of Arnold Schwarzenegger, this is THE classic for you.
(silence. black screen.)
*Unknown warriors approaching*
"Who are ye, then, ye armed men,
mailed folk, that yon mighty vessel
have urged thus over the ocean ways,
here o'er the waters?"
*bum bum* . . . ONE MAN . . . *bum bum* . . . ONE LARGE MAN . . .*bum bum* . . . OF NOBLE BIRTH AND LONG, LONG SWORD . . . *bum bum* . . . IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE THEM.
"Hither have fared to thee far-come men
o'er the paths of ocean, people of Geatland;
and the stateliest there by his sturdy band
is Beowulf named. This boon they seek,
that they, my master, may with thee
have speech at will: nor spurn their prayer
to give them hearing, gracious Hrothgar!
In weeds of the warrior worthy they,
methinks, of our liking; their leader most surely,
a hero that hither his henchmen has led."
*cue symphony: BUM-BUM-BUUUUMMMMM! BUM-BUM-BUUUUMMMMM*
Beowulf speaks:
"To Hrothgar I
in greatness of soul would succor bring,
so the Wise-and-Brave may worst his foes, --
if ever the end of ills is fated,
of cruel contest, if cure shall follow,
and the boiling care-waves cooler grow;
else ever afterward anguish-days
he shall suffer in sorrow while stands in place
high on its hill that house unpeered!"
*Everyone looks around at each other, wondering what the fuck he's talking about*
*Exciting symphony, something along the lines of "O Fortuna." combat shown as Beowulf tosses Grendel down, gets Grendel in a headlock, pokes him in his eyes. Beowulf takes his shoe off and starts hitting Grendel on the top of his head with it.*
*Music stops. Shot of Beowulf on the shore, hand on his hilt.*
Beowulf speaks:
"Tis time that I fare from you. Father Almighty
in grace and mercy guard you well,
safe in your seekings. Seaward I go,
'gainst hostile warriors hold my watch."
BEOWULF. PG-13, Parents Strongly Cautioned. Contains Monsters Biting People's Faces Off, Graphic Far-Fetched Violence, and Shots of Beowulf's Bare Chest.
Beowulf is totally the precursor to Conan, and Rambo. He's mothafuckin' badass. And you know how, since the Rambo movies are so old, they come out in boxed sets now? Think of this slim volume as a trilogy:
BEOWULF
BEOWULF II: MOMMY DEAREST
BEOWULF III: BEOWULF VERSUS A BIG-ASS DRAGON
While often trilogies get worse as they go along, this one actually improves. And it's safe to say that a fourth sequel will never come out about Beowulf after he gets old and out of shape. . . although that might be what BEOWULF VERSUS A BIG-ASS DRAGON is.
If you like football, Stallone, Escape From New York, and can't get enough of Arnold Schwarzenegger, this is THE classic for you.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
November 3, 2008
– Shelved
November 3, 2008
– Shelved as:
poetry
June 30, 2014
– Shelved as:
most-popular-reviews
Comments Showing 1-50 of 65 (65 new)
message 1:
by
Kat Kennedy
(new)
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rated it 3 stars
Jul 21, 2010 01:02PM

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Ah, thanks, Robert.
But where's the nude, digitally enhanced Angelina Jolie?
Probably saved as your desktop background, Manny :) I kid, I kid . . . I probably shouldn't google "nude angelina jolie" here at work, though.
What a fun review. Great job!
Thanks, AH!

Probably saved as your desktop background, Manny :)"
Well... if I ever get around to watching what several of my friends assure me is a kick-ass movie, she may be! But until then...


Well, Old English is complicated by additional characters not found in Modern English. For instance, the character 'Thorn,' which looks like this: þ. Sylvester Stallone is complicated by slurring all his words together, having a Bronx accent, and talking like his mouth is full of gravel.
The hardest to understand is definitely Stallone PLAYING Beowulf.
Also, you should check out the post-apocolyptic steampunk version they did, it's hilarious.
Aaah, Christopher Lambert! That movie is AMAZING!ly bad. I LOVED it. There's an amazing scene where the hot chick (of course there's a hot chick) goes wandering into a dark, spooky, misty room of the castle, looking for Beowulf who is looking for Grendel. She's wearing a nightie and keeps calling out "Beowulf? Beowulf?" into the dark, monster-laden chambers, for absolutely no reason other than stupid-movie-character curiosity. It's hilarious.
Watching the recent Beowulf was fun, because it was such a disaster. The whole nudey fight scene played like an extended Austin Powers gag - priceless bad movie stuff. I also realized Angelina is a fem-bot, because she looks no different animated. I'm assuming they just airbrush out the tail in her live-action stuff.

Ceridwen, I beg to differ. You're quite wrong. If you stop and think about it, you'll surely agree that this must be an identical twins deal. I mean, could the woman who appeared in Beowulf and Tomb Raider really be the same one as in Girl, Interrupted and Changeling?
I do feel rather sorry for Brad... fear he may suffer the same fate as Christian Bale's wife in The Prestige. It can't be easy.

Skillful and strenuous application of Caucasian foundation takes place every morning - involving some nubile young serving maids of the dusky variety - to cover up her native blue skin.... *tails off dreamily*
That would also still render your tail-theory completely valid, Ceridwen!
* self-conscious yet wicked look from under eyelids *
Welcome to my world...
Incidentally, in a half-hearted attempt to pretend I am here to discuss books, I do adore this version of Beowulf. Heaney brilliant. As is Michaels' review.
I'll be in my bunk.

I had forgotten it, but now I remember! FTW! I can't imagine the new one being as much fun as the steampunk one . . . The whole nudey fight scene played like an extended Austin Powers gag - priceless bad movie stuff . . . Then again, maybe. Just maybe.
On the whole Angelina Jolie mystery, my bet is that she doesn't really exist at all. She's been CGIed from the beginning. In an attempt to save time and money, Hollywood is testing out artificial celebrities, made purely from digital graphix. They borrowed Angelina Jolie from an eighties graphic novel, and if things continue going well with her career, Hollywood may be devoid of REAL actors and actresses in just a decade or so. With the money that will save, the studios can invest EVEN MORE in having super-duper special effects.

Ah... SimONE, right? Also a fine movie...

If you read some reviews by the people in this comment thread, I'm sure you'll find a better one in no time at all.





I will probably be working "This is the best review of a book that I have ever read" into my resume somehow.

I still can't get over the "Everyone looks around at each other, wondering what the fuck he's talking about" xD
